FEARING THE MALACHI CRUNCH: So I was incredibly excited last night at about 7:55p when, flipping around to see if there was something airing for Lucy to watch, I noticed that the Hub network was just about to re-air the Family Ties two-parter "A, My Name Is Alex" and set my TiVo promptly.
For those too young to remember (or who weren't into Family Ties), this was as Very Special as episodes get. Alex's "best friend" Greg (I use the quotes because I don't believe we had ever seen him before) is killed in a car accident on a drive Alex himself had opted out of, and we transition from Alex's comic denial-of-grief into 40 minutes of stark drama (staged on a black set, ala Our Town) before an unseen therapist who unpacks all of Alex's insecurities and the pressure of always being seen as the one who had all the answers. (Or, alternatively, it hasn't aged well, but this plus HIMYM was a nice one-two punch last night.) Much, much hugging and learning and Emmy-winning ensues.
So here's my question: what's a tv episode you haven't seen in a damn long time which you would be delighted to come across again?
How is it that I was a reasonably big Family Ties fan and have no recollection of this episode? Or perhaps I was already cynical enough in 1987 to avoid Very Special Episodes. Or had a test that Friday.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to the question, I want to see "The Non-Fat Yogurt" Seinfeld episode, because I keep citing it in my briefs. But apparently I don't want to see it enough to buy the DVD or to check TBS for the four or five times a year they air it.
Speaking of TV-show DVDs: "Archer" is a must-have. NSFW cartoon spy satire starring Jon Benjamin, Chris Parnell, and half of the Arrested Development cast.
Only going back 10 or so years, but there's a ski trip episode of Frasier that was a master class of mistaken identities, timing in people comingnin and out if doors and confusion as to whom was sleeping with whom. (Apparently it's called "Ski Lodge" from 1998.) Sure, it's on DVD so nice and available, so not as unattainable as as some other possibilities.
ReplyDeleteThis was my favorite episode of any TV show for the longest time, but I do think it worked better in its original hour-long format than when it got split up into two 30-minute episodes for syndication. When it originally aired on NBC, the therapy portion of the show had no commercial interruptions, which made it much more powerful.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree to an extent with the linked article that indicates the episode hasn't aged well (the AV Club made a similar statement about Family Ties in general during a recent recap of 80s sitcoms), I still believe Michael J. Fox did an amazing job, particularly in the last five minutes. As far as I can remember, it's the first time he really praises his father's approach to parenting. I recalled being surprised by the overt references to religion and the existence (or non-existence) of God in the last five minutes because it seemed so unusual to see that subject brought up in sitcoms of that era. About twenty-five years later, I still remember most of what Alex said in those last five minutes, which has to speak for the quality of the lines and Michael J. Fox's delivery of them.
As was mentioned in a recent Pop Culture Happy Hour, the advent of Hulu and DVDs makes it much easier to have ready access to favorite TV episodes nowadays (I actually have this episode of Family Ties on DVD). When I think of what shows I'd like to see, I think of seasons rather than individual episodes. I'm waiting for the final seasons of Everwood and Once and Again to get on DVD. If I'd limit it to an individual episode, it would probably be Everwood's finale.
And when do I get a DVD set of Get Real, the series I remember walking past, watching five minutes and pegging Anne Hathaway as someone to watch (and now looking it up, I see Jesse Eisenberg was the central character, which I'd never noticed before!)
ReplyDeleteSappy, I admit, but remember Life Goes On? With Corky, the mentally challenged teenager? In a later episode he's getting married and his mom is all broken up about losing her baby and he says to her...get ready now..."I loved you first". AWWWWWW.....I would love to see that episode again.
ReplyDeleteThis edit, FWIW, cut out the whole monk sequence.
ReplyDeleteRemember "Misfits of Science?" I do.
ReplyDeleteA pre-"ALF" Max Wright plays a powerless Professor X to a group of teen-ish mutants, including a pre-"Family Ties" Courtney Cox (Jean Grey). Courtney would put her hands behind her head, the screen would go negative, and stuff would move around. These three occurences were meant to be perceived as related.
My mother grounded me from television the night the last episode aired due to a disagreement about steamed okra, saying, "Oh, come on. Don't be that upset, they will re-air it in the Spring."
They NEVER DID. (dun dun duuuuun)
Eventually, I downloaded the episodes, through many ill-advised means, hungry to gain back my favorite childhood show. Talk about your diminishing returns.
I vaguely remember that episode of Family Ties. I still love that show.
ReplyDeleteThere are two episodes of Growing Pains that I'd love to see again:
The episode where Carol's friend Sandy (played by Matthew Perry) gets in a car accident after drinking and driving and then dies.
The episode where Mike gets busted for lying and is grounded, then busts him mom for lying so she grounds herself. Then the two of them sneak out together for pizza. I remember loving that episode when I was a kid because there was no way either of my parents ever would have grounded themselves.
IIRC, this was the Noel Cowardiest episode of a series that strove (admirably) for Noel Cowardiness.
ReplyDeleteNone of the following are not available on DVD (at least, last I checked):
ReplyDeleteAny episode of Maximum Bob.
The episode of Ed where they all end up in the swimming pool.
The series finale of The Wonder Years (which I have on VHS, but it's near worn out).
Oh, and the whole of the BBC miniseries Glasgow Kiss, which has never been officially commercially released on DVD. (You can buy a copy direct from the production company for about $300.) I have all but the first ten minutes of the first episode on VHS, commericals and all, and it's one of the main reasons I hang onto a VCR.
And, I've never seen, but have heard about enough times, some of Richard Pryor's appearances on The Flip Wilson show that I would love to watch them for the first time.
This is a series, not a particular episode, but for the briefest time, there was a show on network tv in the 80s called "Masquerade." The (silly) premise was that all of the CIA's agents' covers had been blown, so for each mission they chose a team of ordinary people who happened to have the skills needed to get the job done. It was really cheesy, but I'd love to watch an episode again. (I'd also love to see "It's Your Move" again.)
ReplyDeleteI thought the monk sequence was silly anyway, but Alex's debate with himself at the end about whether he believes in God was noteworthy.
ReplyDeleteMad About You had a third-season episode, "The Ride Home," in which Paul and Jamie recounted their differing perspectives on a party at Fran's apartment. Really clever, tightly-written script, with great guest spots from Eric Stoltz and Wendie Malick. Haven't seen it in years.
ReplyDeleteI loved Life Goes On.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching this at the time and thinking, borrrrrrrrrrrrring.
ReplyDeleteThat episode of Homicide with Vincent D'onofrio run over by the subway. I only saw it once and remember being so affected by it. I wonder if it would hold up.
ReplyDeleteI have been a huge Andre Braugher fan ever since.
"I'm so excited.... I'm so ... scared." -- Jesse Spano
ReplyDeleteStill the most unintentionally funny thing on that whole show. In fact, given how poorly that show has aged, it might be the best episode to watch.
I love that episode of Family Ties, and I've been waiting for it to rerun on Hulu ever since they started running the show. It's on my DVR and I plan on watching it tonight.
ReplyDeleteThere's another episode of Family Ties I've been looking for: the one where Chloris Leachman plays Elyse's favorite aunt, who's the family historian. The aunt visits, and Elyse realizes that the aunt is losing her memory (I think due to Alzheimer's), and that Elyse must now take on the mantle of family historian. At the end, she tells the family story of her great-great-grandmother seeking someone to marry her in Ireland so she could hold on to her land.
An episode I love that I watch whenever i catch it is the episode of Frasier when he does the old-fashioned radio mystery show and (among other things) ends up forcing Niles to play about five parts with five different accents.
As far as memorably campy episodes go, my favorite is the Beverly Hills 90210 with the "Donna Martin Graduates" demonstration.
ReplyDeleteEd and Wonder Years are unlikely to ever be released on DVD because of music clearance issues. They either have to change all the music or get rights/permissions. Given that music was so organic to both shows, they're between a rock and a hard place. And I would love to have the Ed episode where John Slattery delivers the "I'm a Jackass!" speech, which was seriously awesome.
ReplyDeleteThat's because you have no soul.
ReplyDeleteNoel Cowardesque! That's what I was trying to come up with as a description but my sleep-muddled brain wasn't helping. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI also very much fell off my chair and could not stop laughing (as a high schooler) at the Fraiser episode that a little morning you tubeing told me was called "Ham Radio" about Fraiser putting on an old timey radio show/murder mystery. And I watched a bunch of it this morning to remind me that yes, Niles does lose it and start popping balloons left and right, and I think it is still very funny.
ReplyDeleteACK! I just added that above. This morning You tube told me it was called Ham Radio.
ReplyDeleteWell, "A My Name is Alex" is that episode for me, and I've had a TiVo search set for it for ages. I taped the repeat at 1am so will watch tonight.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have the entire series Throb on DVD. I'm sure it doesn't hold up, but I dearly loved it. And one of these days I'll get the box set for The Prisoner so I can rewatch all of those. I would also like, at some point, to do a marathon of all the Bar Wars episodes of Cheers.
Wonder Years even has music issues in syndication, IIRC. So some of the reruns on Hub are probably subbing music in that's different from the original airing.
ReplyDeleteHysterical - especially when Niles starts popping the balloons.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a bit on Frasier that I absolutely loved and haven't seen in ages - it's not the whole episode, just the beginning. It's Niles doing a silent comedy bit which starts with ironing his pants and goes into a huge routine (I remember there's a point at which he pricks his finger, sees blood, faints, wakes up, sees the blood, faints again, all the while the iron is creating a fire which spreads... etc.) Brilliant comedy from David Hyde Pierce.
Wow, I've seriously never seen that episode, Heather. That's a must see for me! (Frasier is holding up very, very well on rewatches, isn't it?)
ReplyDeleteI'm a fan of the 90210 high school graduation episode that was two hours long and had all the flashbacks in it. I used to have that one on VHS but it has disappeared throughout the years. Donna Martin Graduates is a great one though!
ReplyDeleteWhat about TV 101? I would love to see that again....
ReplyDeleteI almost never watch Fraiser then or now, and I don't even know why I started that episode, but I still remember it because it is easily one of the funniest half hours I have ever seen on tv.
ReplyDeleteI remember that once the balloon popping started I was laughing so loud and so hard that I was actually screaming and members of my family came in from other rooms in the house to see what was wrong with me and I couldn't get enough breath to talk and just pointed at the tv.
ReplyDeleteH. Jon Benjamin is the greatest. Dr. Katz, Home Movies.... I love that guy.
ReplyDeleteWow -- apparently Masquerade (1) actually existed (sometimes I wonder if I made it all up) and (2) lasted 12 whole episodes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masquerade_(TV_series)
ReplyDeleteCan I second really, really wanting the third season of Once and Again? It was (if memory serves) a short season too - come on ABC/Disney?!?! Maybe if Evan Rachel Wood hits it really big that'll prompt a release.
ReplyDeleteI got my mother some DVDs of the Mary Tyler Moore show for Christmas, and rewatched season four's "The Lars Affair." It holds up wonderfully and is a predictably great showcase for Betty White and Cloris Leachman. In fact I'd say it rivals "Chuckles Bites the Dust" for best episode of that series, and may come out on top because it's hilarious throughout.
ReplyDeleteThe Mad About You episode I want to see again (that they never seem to re-run) is the one with all of Paul's birthdays, where the first half of the episode shows 5 or so birthdays going backwards in time with each one saying "at least it's not as bad as last year" or some such thing, then the second half moves forward through them again showing the resolution of each story. I remember it being both very funny and very poignant.
ReplyDeleteI still love/watch Frasier, and the "Ham Radio" episode is a great one - definitely check it out.
ReplyDeleteOh, Misfits of Science. In that deep, dark early-80's age of NBC right before they became the Thursday night powerhouse, when they had things like Manimal on the air. And let's not forget that Misfits also had Kevin Peter Hall as the shrinking guy, who also had two great costumes roles as both the Predator and Harry in Harry and the Hendersons.
ReplyDelete(Wiki says that Misfits was on in 1985, which seemed late to me, and Manimal was part of a 1983 season that had NBC cancelling eight shows before their season was done.)
The MAY episode I always loved was their first Thanksgiving at the apartment, especially for Paul's mother. ("What, I never had a mother in law?")
ReplyDeleteBack in the early '80s, when Nickelodeon was commercial-free, they aired a Donohue-type talk show for teens called "Livewire." See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livewire_%28talk_show%29
ReplyDeleteThere were two episodes with no guests, were they just talked to the kids in the audience (some of whom were regulars, in most episodes.) I would love to see those again.
We had A My Name is Alex on tape when I was a kid. So sad! (We also had every episode of Bosom Buddies taped!) My mom is awesome.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could get Ed on DVD. The scene when Carol and Ed do the chin monkeys! Paco and Evangeline! Or so many of those $10 bets-- the one with pronouncing lettuce as le-tuce. Or the one with doing the snake charmer dance in the middle of the street.
As for the final season of Once and Again, I've watched clips from some of those episodes on youtube, I've been that desparate to see them again.
MANIMAL! Those CLAWS! ...So disturbing.
ReplyDeleteOh, I loved that show.
ReplyDeleteI have given up hope, but I really want to see the entire season of "Now and Again", um, again. I still have the DVR (two DVRS ago) on which I recorded the episode "There Are No Words". I'm going to figure out how to transfer that onto the Mac so I can watch it again.
ReplyDeleteIs this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eArglBo6hnY) the work of an artist without soul? (Granted, written by my children, but still)
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to catch the Chanandler Bong episode of Friends FOREVER. I think it's not in syndication, but I can't understand why.
ReplyDeleteburger me is still said at our household.
ReplyDeleteSteamed okra? <span>Steamed</span> okra? I can totally see disagreeing about having to eat steamed okra.
ReplyDeleteI spent more time as a kid than I care to admit contorting my hands and pretending that they were transforming into panther claws.
ReplyDeleteLove Andre Brauger. Can't stand Vincent D'onofrio.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, she never served it again, and has since apologized.
ReplyDeleteThey called YouTube what, 20 years in advance?
ReplyDeleteYes!! With a pre-friends Joey Tribbiani as the guy who got his girlfriend pregnant, right?
ReplyDeleteI would love to watch the final episode again. Great show!
ReplyDeleteThe ep of the wire with Bunk & Mc Nulty at the scense of a shooting figuring out all the angles. No dialogue other than "F*** Me."
ReplyDeleteI was coming here to post about this episode! Chanandler Bong STILL makes me laugh- made me snicker typing it just now. I seem to think I saw it in syndication, but it's been years ago.
ReplyDeleteAnother one comes to mind; I'd love a proper DVD release of Liquid Television, a series MTV ran on Saurday nights for a while to feature short-form animation. It was the first place I saw the disturbing Aeon Flux shorts, the really crudely animated early Beavis and Buttheads (which were almost as much about their older neighbor, the one who was an obvious template for Hank Hill down the road), the Maxx and <span><span>Stick Figure Theatre (which had a Henry V adaptation that I still remember as being both funny and quite good).</span></span>
ReplyDeleteThere's a two-part episode of The Incredible Hulk that Mariette Hartley guest starred in. She played a doctor that David Banner fell in love with. They actually get married. She's dying of a brain tumor or something that makes her have grand mal seizures. It's incurable, but she's a doctor/psychiatrist? and she's working on a kind of experimental treatment for herself --maybe Dr. David is helping her too. Anyway, they're also working on curing David of his hulkness...taking him through guided meditations where he locks the Hulk up. Alas, before she can finish either job, there's a big rainstorm and she gets one of her killer headaches and jumps out of the car in pain before he can get her to the hospital and he runs after her and turns into the Hulk before he finds her dying in the rain. She looks up at the Hulk's face and asks him to let her see David one more time....and she dies as he's shifting....
ReplyDeleteCan't believe i remember that. I think I was about 13....It moved me.
Prepare to be impressed; Mariette Hartley won an Emmy for that performance in 1978. She won a freaking Emmy for The Incredible Hulk....I must see this episode now.
ReplyDeleteIs it wrong that I can still quote random lines from the "Donna Martin Graduates" episode?
ReplyDeleteWow, yes, and while I was verifying it, I noticed that also, and did you know:
ReplyDeleteYOUNG TERI POLO!
Steve Austin fights sasquatch and sasquatch turns out to be a robot right.
ReplyDeleteI like the episode where Carlton and Will get stopped driving the mercedes just because they are black, and especially the end of the episode where Carlton is processing the discrimination for the first time.
ReplyDeleteThat's MS. Chanandeler Bong.
ReplyDelete"Rachel! We steal that TV Guide every week!"
One of my favorite TV episodes of all time. I've definitely seen it in syndication, though not recently.
I had a similar run-in over brussels sprouts.
ReplyDeleteI loved brussels sprouts, and really just about everything else. It was absurd that she was that upset over the okra thing -- even she admits now that she thought it was awful steamed.
ReplyDeleteI doubt anyone is still checking this thread, but the Chanandeler Bong episode is scheduled to air on February 15 at 11:30pm in Chicago. The name of the episode is "The One with the Embryos." One of the rare sitcom episodes where the A story and the B story are equally wonderful - the other story is Phoebe being implanted with the embryos to have her brother's kids. The speech where she talks to them in the petrie dish ("if the next time you see me, I'm screaming, don't worry - that's supposed to happen") is amazing.
ReplyDelete